OUR ORGANISATION

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FNEHA arose as part of recommendations from the 2022 First Nations meeting for

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Conference (NATSIEHC) held on Larrakia Country, Darwin, Northern Territory. Designed and chaired by Shaun Tatipata (Ngarrindjeri/Wuthathi), this meeting brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander professionals with an interest in, or working in, eye health, who outlined future eye and vision care aspirations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals for 2030. What helped contextualise this work was a crude assessment of national eye health services in 2030 by the Indigenous Eye Health Unit at the University of Melbourne.

Associate Professor Mitchell Anjou and Dr Guy Gillor presented this assessment and

established that with population estimates for First Nations people projected to reach

By the year 2030, it was noted that there would be inadequate services and staff to meet the additional population needs.

The group used this information to identify activities and themes that could support strengthened services to scale up and meet projected needs. The group spoke about many important areas for improvement. It concluded that there was a need for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health and vision care peak body to represent the community's voices and vision into the future. The Vision 2030 workshop report was published as a result of this work. Shaun Tatipata enlisted the help of Lose (Rose) Fonua (Wiradjuri) to move forward with building the First Nations Eye Health Alliance. FNEHA was incorporated and registered as a charity on 18th July 2023 and continues today.

FNEHA is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander charity led by committed, well-known Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders who are active advocates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. They bring a rich leadership lens to the eye health collaborative and the work we will do in this space, and they are passionate about seeing our communities healthy, well, and flourishing. FNEHA also has a strong community of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander professionals working in, or with an interest in, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health and vision care. Our future is a bright one with their thinking leading the way to advocating for stronger systems that improve the eye health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.